Archive for the ‘baseball hitting drills’ Category

A ten percent strike out ratio is considered standard for a baseball player to be a solid hitter, and all good hitters in the game should have the confidence and the ability to face even the fiercest looking strikes. If you are a baseball player wondering how to make the best possible pitch, the following baseball hitting tips can help you.

One key thing to remember is not to be scared of the ball, or at least not to show it and having confidence is one of the best tips there is. When a strike out is made, it is essential to be confident and you can assume the same rules apply to both the first pitch of the game as well as for any other accurate strikes.

Whether you are carrying out baseball hitting drills or actually playing in a game, being assured and looking self confident are both important and you should never fear those strike outs. You can easily and effectively learn all the baseball hitting drills you need to, by having a baseball exercise and practice system and one of the best is the Super 8 hitting system. This easy to follow and detailed practice and training system has some of the best baseball hitting tips you will find, including how to hit the ball perfectly. To enjoy a significantly improved game, you will need to follow the enclosed baseball hitting drills on a regular and consistent basis.

For example, there are several advantages for a pitcher if he stands at a 45 degree position. This allows the hitter to enjoy a clear and unobstructed view of the ball, and it also allows the strike to take place quickly. This is because the hitter’s hip movements are reduced and the hand goes to the pitch in a linear way.

Improved vision of the ball in the strike area will be one of the big benefits of these baseball hitting tips, and it is unusual for players who are able to successfully take out the swing and miss, to strike out completely perfectly.

The useful and easy to follow baseball hitting drills outlined in the Super 8 hitting system include useful and informative videos providing baseball hitting tips. Whether you are a player looking to improve your game with some useful baseball hitting tips, or whether you are a baseball coach looking to improve your team’s performance, the easy to follow and carefully thought out baseball hitting drills will make a big difference to the level of skill that you currently have.

The baseball player must be able to compete with faster pitching. Even though I am a former baseball coach, I have the answer for this. The principles for the correct stroke are the same for fast pitch softball as they are for baseball.

In today’s game it is absolutely essential that the good hitter is “short to the ball” with a good compact stroke.

A major part of being the best hitter we can be is to be “tough to strike out”. A good hitter should have no more than a 10% strike-out ratio. The strike out gives us NO chance to help our team. By not putting the ball in play, we give the defense their easiest out.

While no one has to be convinced that a strike out is not good, we cannot fear the strike out. We must not let it affect our boldness when we come up to bat. We should hate it, despise it, avoid it like the plague, but NEVER fear it. Know that every time we come to bat, we will make SUPER CONTACT.

So the first part of the process is TOTAL CONFIDENCE, to completely eliminate our fear of the strike out. Our readerboard is a great tool to help you with this.

Part two is “How do we do this”

The Super 8 Hitting System gives us the baseball hitting instruction to practically eliminate striking out. It explains the biggest secret in hitting. It is called the “drive” action. It is short, direct, and will immediately improve contact.

By consistently practicing the “drive” action, the baseball player can be assured that she can improve her ability to put the ball in play over 90% of the time.

To do this, the player gets into a “45? drive position”, which means that before we initiate the stroke, we rotate the hips half way to the pitcher. For the right-handed batter, this would point the knob of the bat and the belly button about where the second baseman would play. Then all the hitter needs to do is to snap the bat on the ball.

Three advantages happen immediately:

The batter will see the ball better: better read for ball movement.

Movement of the hips after this is minimized because the batter is already in one-half a pivot. This makes the stroke extremely short and quick. The body has basically completed its role. From here the hands just snap the bat.

Hands now go directly to the pitch in a straight line, linear to the pitch.

Seeing the ball should be twice as easy for the hitter, eliminating “swing and miss” of the pitch, outside and inside the strike zone.

Players that perfect this technique rarely strike out.

You must line up the barrel of the bat according to where the ball is pitched.

We fully explain the “drive action” in the Super 8 Hitting System, completely demonstrated in a series of baseball hitting videos, which includes many baseball and softball hitting drills.

HITTING TIP: “DRIVE” — One of the biggest hitting secrets for both baseball and softball!

A successful baseball player must be able to adjust to the faster pitching environment of today. A former coach has a solution for this. This involves principles for effective swings. These principles are the same in fast pitch softball as they are in baseball. Baseball hitting drills provide a way to make a habit of effective swings.

Today’s quicker speed of play has redefined good hitters as those who can be short to the ball with good consistent and compact strokes.

An integral part of being the absolute best hitter is being hard to strike out. A good hitter is defined as one that has a strike out ratio no higher than ten percent. Striking out provides the team zero assistance in winning. When the ball is not put into play the defense is given the easiest out.

No one has to be persuaded in believing that striking out is not acceptable. Yet batters cannot fear it. One must not let it diminish their boldness when coming up to bat. It should be hated, despised, and avoided like the plague, but NEVER feared. That boldness comes when one is assured they will make SUPER CONTACT every time they come up to bat.

The foundational portion of the process is Absolute Confidence. This fear of striking out has to be completely eliminated.

The next part focuses on how the improved batting skills will be accomplished.

The Super 8 Hitting System provides the hitting tips essential in practically eliminating strike outs. It shares the best secret in hitting called the DRIVE action. This action is short and direct, creating an immediate improvement in contact.

By becoming a student of the DRIVE action a player can gain assurance that she will improve her ability to get the ball into play ninety percent or more.

In doing this, the player will get into a forty five degree drive stance. This means that before the stroke is even initiated the hips will be rotated half way towards the pitcher. For a right handed batter this points the bat knob as well as the belly button towards the area where the second baseman would normally play. Then the only thing a hitter has left to do is snap the bat onto the ball.

There are three advantages which will happen immediately.

A batter can see the ball much better. This means a more effective ready for ball movement.

Hip movement afterwards is greatly reduced because the batter is already half way in the pivot position. This makes the stroke much quicker and shorter. The batters body has essentially completed its role. From this point the hands just need to pop the bat.

The hands should now move directly to the pitch. They should move in straight lines, linearly to the pitch.

Viewing the ball should now be twice as easy for hitters. This eliminates the swinging and missing of the pitch, both outside and inside of the strike zone.

Players that can perfect this technique will rarely strike out.

One must line the barrel of the bat up according to where the ball is being thrown.

The drive action is completely explained in the Super 8 Hitting System. The approach is fully demonstrated in a group of baseball videos which include drills on how to hit a softball as well as a baseball.

The Hitting Tip is without a doubt DRIVE. This is by far one of the best secrets for softball as well as baseball players. Baseball Hitting Drills will help master this secret.

Pulling off the ball is a common mistake by many hitters.In order to get consistent contact, the hitter must be sure his head stays closed, in other words, looking down into the contact area. Here are some great baseball hitting drills to help you out.

It is very easy to get into the habit of pulling off the ball.This is especially true for power hitters.

Have you ever seen a power hitter hit a home run and thereafter, he can’t couch the ball?What happened?

The home run took him out of himself.So as he pivots, he is also pivoting his head.

First of all, hitters should never take a 100% stroke.Doing this invites pulling off the ball.

For efficiency, the stroke should be no more than 95%, saving 5% for command.

As coaches, we sometimes go too far in the other direction by telling them to “just meet the ball.”And now theystart to aim the bat, which is not good either.

Hitting is a controlled explosion. Continue to be aggressive, with a 95% stroke.

So what do we advise? The hitter is pulling off because he’s rotating his complete body when he hits.

He must focus on his head rotating in the opposite direction to the hips.As the hips rotate to the pitcher, the head should rotate to the ball.

Place a pile-on or glove across from the hitter just outside the batter’s box in front of home plate (45% angle).After the hitter makes contact, he looks into the pile-on area. This keeps the head inside.

DRILL #2 (with pitching machine or live pitcher)

Hitter assumes his stance, with no bat.To simulate holding a bat, his top hand grabs the thumb of his bottom hand.Coach stands in back of the hitter and holds his head on both sides .The hitter takes batless strokes at the pitched ball, while coach restricts the head to keep it on the ball as it enters the hit zone.

DRILL #3(Full Take)

The hitter will coil, stride, and read the pitch to the catcher.

This keeps the head independent and disciplines it to stay with the ball.Note:This head discipline should carry over to his regular hitting, in the “full take”, a pitch that is an obvious ball.

Coaching Points.The hitter should not go to the point where his head is pushing against the back shoulder.This locks up the back shoulder and restricts his extension.

The head swivels.It should never tilt while reading the pitch.This causes the body to tilt also and the eyes to look on a vertical plane.Eyes must stay basically horizontal for best vision and body control.

These techniques are fully explained in our baseball hitting instruction web site for the “Super 8 Hitting System”, includingbatting aids and a series of baseball hitting videos, which demonstrates many baseball hitting drills.

Q – Coach: I got your $57.00 dollar DVD and watched them and they are great. A couple of questions are I believe my son has a loop in his swing he is eight years old. I believe the fence drill will fix that. That will also fix the dropping of the hands correct? The guide stilck drill is AWESOME ALSO. Which knuckles get lined up. He is left handed so his left handed knuckles are lined up with his right hand top knuckles not the knuckles on the fiingers of the right hand but the hand correct? Also the rocking step. When the front heel comes up you want the hips to urn in correct. orry for the questions just want to make sure that I am doing this right. Thanks Joe

A – Hi, Joe

Glad you were able to find my video helpful for you in instructing baseball hitting drills eight year old son. This is a great time to help him to develop good habits that he can build on as he grows into the game.

Knuckles of his top hand should be up when he is in his stance, and they face the pitcher when he is in contact with the pitch. Remember, they never face down or away as he goes to the pitch. The knuckles of his bottom hand actually line up little between first and second knuckles of the top hand. Remember when he is in the contact position, his knuckles top hand knuckles never face up. They always face the pitcher.

All of those baseball hitting drills are good. Be sure that he practices what we call the “A, B, C” drill. “A “ is his position after he makes his stride. Keep in mind that in his stance, the bat is at the point of the shoulder, with the percussion slightly cocked toward the pitcher in a 2 o’clock position and remains in this position while he takes his stride. The “B(Drive)” position is when he makes his pivot toward the pitch, still keeping his bat on his shoulder. The “C” position is his contact position. In this position the top hand must be under the bat, and the bottom hand is over the bat. You can check this out by having him open his hands while in the contact position. And the bottom hand remains under the bat until after first extension. Then he can roll the bat at that point.

Be sure to focus on keeping his bat on his shoulder throughout the pivot process and only leave when he goes to contact the pitch. This will help to insure that he does not drop his hands in a loop. All of our drills are designed to reinforce this concept. For pitches down the middle or inside, make contact out in front of the plate (90 degree pivot). For outside pitches, contact is made a little deeper in the strike zone with only a 45 degree pivot. We call this a hip flex. A good way to remember this is “square to”…”go to”.

You can reinforce all of these concepts with the mat drills and also during his batting practice. He can actually practice the “A-B” and then hit the pitched ball to help reinforce this and carry it over into live pitching. We illustrate all of these drills in our Hitting Agenda Video from the Super 8 Hitting System 8 DVD set.

We’ve often heard baseball coaches tell their players, “Trust the hands!” Is that a good coaching concept?No, I say.It’s the opposite.In fact, here’s one of the most important lessons I teach players during baseball hitting drills:

“HIPS TAKE US TO THE BALL.

HANDS TAKE US THROUGH THE BALL.”

Our hands are auto reactors, providing some of our body’s quickest muscle reaction. If we hold our hands up and pop our wrists, we can do that repeatedly very quickly. If someone were to throw a punch at us, our hands would quickly and automatically pop up in defense.

As an infielder, we don’t have to think about a ball thrown to us. Our hands react to the direction of the ball and make the catch without having to think about it. Think of the catcher after he gives the sign. He is taught to frame the pitch. His hands automatically go to the pitch without any thought or direction.

Yes, the hands are auto reactors. Is this good for the hitter? “No!” When the hands move too early, this is when we hear the coach yell out, “Wait on the pitch!”Good coaches know that a hitter who allows his hands to react automatically as his first movement towards the pitch will never have full body support.

Repeat, “hips take us to the ball, hands take us through the ball.” Don’t trust the hands . . . yet.Discipline the hands to wait until we get into launch position—hands inside the ball and hips rotated—then turn to the pitch and initiate the stroke.

They travel in rotation with the pivot, but they do not commit to the pitch until the rotation is complete. This rotated position with the hands still back is what we call the “drive” position. It is at this time that the hands will launch.

“Now” we can trust the hands.Try it, and watch the ball explode onto the bat.

Coach’s Corner Extra Tip: Remember that when we hit, the hands are in a double lever system. That is, they don’t personally go to the ball. They are holding the bat, which goes to the ball. The hands always end up in front of the body. They are responsible for directing the bat to the proper cut line on the pitch.

This course will cover baseball hitting drills from our Super 8 Hitting System. We will cover the batting stance with baseball hitting tips and what position you need to be in when you first step in to the batters box. The front side is responsible to takes us to the ball in put us in a better position to hit the ball with power and accuracy. The back side is the power side… you want to be in an athletic position such as a football player in a defensive stance. Click on the video below to avoid making costly mistakes in your baseball hitting drills.

Baseball batting practices across the nation and around the globe are essentially the same:players try to hit every ball as hard and deep as they can.There’s nothing wrong with that approach to hitting, unless, of course, you want to achieve maximum hitting ability.

I’ve studied hitters during practice practices (BP) for years and come to the same conclusion each time.Hitters who take every pitch in this manner get pops, chops, and routine ground balls with every pitch.In fact, the going rate of hard hits is three or four out of ten.

Instead, try my proven Power-10 baseball hitting drills, which will help players hit the ball hard with super contact every time. Power-10 drills used in batting practices will train hitters to hit each ball well, making practices more meaningful.Hitters will concentrate more on hitting the balls hard and sharply, rather than hitting everything deep.As you see below, this method is proven by improved batting averages.

A hitter chooses which pitches to hit. But call a strike if he takes a good pitch.

Scoring:

Hard Hit = 1 point

Week hit = 0 points

Swing and miss/foul/strike = (-1)

A hitter strives for a minimum 7 out of 10 (70%). If a hitter is not at that level, he needs to work for that. If time permits, players can do more than one Power-10. With these batting drills, they look forward to the challenge of getting better each time.

Q – How do I keep a hitter ( my son ) from throwing his shoulders to the ball. He is hitting ok but weak.

Thanks Again

Bud

A – It is important that the front shoulder stay closed and does not open until after the stride is completed. This usually is a result of high tension in the hitter or else he may be trying to muscle the ball.

The first thing to consider is that the shoulders do not hit the ball. They are not at all involved with the stride. Teach him to soften the shoulders during his preliminary swings.

After he gets into the batter’s box, before the ball is pitched, have him bring up his shoulders and then release them to release the tension. Remember, no energy in the shoulders…just hips and hands.

1. Taking the pitch, first a full take, just looking at the ball all the way to the catcher; then stride and take, looking the ball all the way to the catcher. This helps the hitter to relax and see the ball better.

2. Next, stride, pivot, and take the pitch, practicing keeping the energy in the hips only, no shoulders.

Another good baseball hitting drill is the overcorrection drill that is demonstrated on the Combos Video #4 and on the back of the poster. This drill forces the shoulders to stay in place.

Using the mat drills with the SpeedBat™ is always good for helping the keep the shoulders back and soft.

It is a must that he keeps his energy out of the shoulders in order for him to maximize his hitting ability.

Q - I have a youngster on my team that we are having a hard time making him keep his head in the swing. When he finishes he is looking in the stands and nearly screws into the ground. He is a very good athlete and one of the best in the league but, he has developed these horrible habits. Do you have any specific drills to help break him. I have tried a ball on the ground in front of the plate to concentrate on to finish the swing. We have worked on the fence, on the tee and soft toss. He seems to improve then when he gets to the plate back to the same bad habits. Need your help?

Mike

A - Hi, Mike

Thanks for the question.It appears that the reason that he hits well is that he is turning well and that’s good. But he needs to make his head independent of his body turn. It must not pull out and his eyes must remain horizontal, like reading a book. If the head tilts, this controls the body.

Practice pivots while bringing the head into the hit zone. Another drill is that during batting practice, have him stand without a bat and hold his head as through in a vice. He can take dry swings while you hold his head in place. Practice over and over, turning the body, with the head looking into the hit zone. Another good drill is to take batting practice just taking the pitch with what is called a full take. He will load and stride and the head reads the pitch all the way to the catcher. This is the only movement. Hands stay back, with no pivot of the body. You can also place an object on the first base line and hit would look back at the object after he swings.